Author: Jeff Long It seems the 2019 injury bug has decided to make a cameo appearance (hopefully just a cameo) in 2020. So far, we have injuries to James Paxton (back), Luis Severino (Tommy John Surgery), and most recently Giancarlo Stanton (calf). The Stanton injury brings up an important issue. What does the everyday lineup look like in the event the Stanton’s calf injury forces an extended absence? Thankfully, the Yankees have solid amount of depth in the outfield in Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar, and Mike Tauchman. The choice for who takes the bulk of Stanton’s playing time will be made by Aaron Boone sometime in the next few weeks. If the choice were up to me, based on his performance last year, Mike Tauchman should get the nod as the everyday left fielder. Let’s take a look at why. Presumably, Tauchman will be entering his first full season with the Yankees as a 29 year-old. Last season, due to a multitude of injuries, Tauchman was able to get about a half-season’s worth of plate appearances (296). His first 130 plate appearances weren’t anything to write home about though. He hit .228/.318/.404 for the first part of the season. Not great, but as far injury replacement players go, that’s not terrible. However, starting in July, Tauchman decided to go off. Leading up to his season ending injury on September 8th, the same Mike Tauchman that delivered paltry numbers in April, May, and June would hit 9 homeruns and carry a .315/.395/.582 slash line. Tauch’ would finish the season hitting .277/.361/.504 with 13 homeruns, 6 stolen bases, a 128 OPS+, and 3.6 WAR. Here’s what that would look like if the he had been given a full-season of plate appearances: That’s a pretty great season from a rookie. Even in a juiced-ball era, an outfielder that gives you decent batting average with 25+ homeruns and double-digit steals is something you will obviously take. There is a question of sustainability with Tauchman though. He carried a pretty high batting average on balls in play (BABIP) during his hot streak in July and August but finished the season with a BABIP of .333. That’s not unsustainable until you see that he also had strikeout percentage on 24%. If Tauchman had a K-Rate closer to 17% or 18%, I think a .333 BABIP wouldn’t be all that hard to keep up. Given his batted ball data, where he only makes hard contact on 33.7% of his batted balls, there may be some regression for Tauch. For the record, here are some of the projections out there on Tauchman (courtesy of Fangraphs): Then comes the “Billy Mays: WAIT, THERE’S MORE” moment. Mike Tauchman is an elite defender. We all remember the highlight reel catches, but that’s anecdotal. Let’s look at the advanced stats. Tauchman had 16 defensive runs saved (DRS). For reference, Alex Gordon won the Gold Glove in leftfield the last 3 years and in 2 of those 3 years he posted a DRS of at least 12. Keep in mind that Gordon played in twice as many games as Tauchman and Gordon had the luxury of only playing leftfield while Tauchman spent time at all 3 outfield spots. Tauchamn was in the Top 10 Outfielders in terms on DRS in front of players such as Mookie Betts and just behind Kevin Kiermaier who was the top outfielder with regard to DRS. Looking at ultimate zone rating per 150 games played, you will see that Tauchman was the top outfielder. Now looking at the anecdotal evidence, you will see that Tauchman gets excellent jumps on low line drives and has a knack for making the shoe-string catch. Here's some video evidence of those highlight plays (along with some timely hitting). Before the injury bug came back, it was likely Tauchman would see some time with the team early in the season. At the very least, he is a great fourth outfielder option. The Yankees are probably not sold on Miguel Andujar being an everyday leftfielder yet and if Clint Frazier isn’t going to get everyday playing time at the Major League level I believe Cashman will prefer he starts the season in Scranton. With the Stanton news, Tauchman may be forced into an everyday role. If last July and August are the real Mike Tauchman, then the Yankees should be find without Stanton. And I’ll put my reputation on the line now. If Tauchman is the everyday leftfielder while Stanton is out, the Yankees actually might be a better team. There’s your hot take.
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